CEO Report

CEO: Samantha Kolasa

We are often asked by families looking at enrolling into kindergarten, whether we will teach their child to write their name before they start school; to recite the alphabet; to count to 100.  When we think of learning, these very tangible, and important examples, are what we associate with as part of early years’ education. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that kindness, leadership, respect, and humility are just as important for a child to learn. It is these skills that enable our children to become well-rounded individuals and to successfully navigate life’s ups and downs. 

At GEKA, we place particular emphasis on teaching resilience. When we think about this word, we all know someone who seems to fit the definition. A person that takes everything in their stride; adapts quickly to change; creates a positive out of a negative. During these crazy times, resilience has never been more important. Like everything in life, there are some of us that have more resilience than others.

As parents, we demonstrate resilience in different ways. Standing at the playground, in the freezing cold, whilst your child asks you to push them higher on the swing as the wind whips through you, is a form of resilience. Trapsing down the hallway in the middle of the night (for the fourth time) to your child’s bedroom because they’ve had a bad dream/ are scared of the dark/ have wet the bed/ need a cuddle, is a form of resilience. Reading your child’s favourite book again and again (and again) is a form of resilience. Sometimes it’s easy to forget that even though we are tired, we are anxious, we are busy, we are battling our own issues, we continue to demonstrate resilience – sometimes in the smallest of ways. 

Our children astound us with their own levels of resilience. The timid child who finally pats a dog for the first time; packing their back pack for their first sleep over; bouncing back from a 40 degree fever only 24 hours earlier. These are all examples of how strong our children really are.

Throughout the year, our educators have been working with your children to develop their resilience skills. By focusing on Gratitude, Empathy, Mindfulness (GEM), the children have been learning incredible life skills. Whilst some could argue that learning Geography, Economics, and Mathematics are more important, the truth is that all are critical in a child’s development and how they navigate the world around them.